Andy, when you get a result like last week, it’s natural that people’s heads will be down when they come back in on Monday morning. How do you approach trying to get the team out of that trough?
Well, I wouldn’t say it was a trough, it was a performance, it’s a game on Saturday. I think I’ve explained to you before, the manager has to speak about results, but I am very much on performances.
We analyse performance in a totally different way to how fans analyse performance. We had 69-70 per cent of possession, 18 shots. They had five shots on target and scored all five.
We already know the areas we need to improve on. We work on those things all the time. We have had an issue all season with conceding goals.
We are trying to address that and we are doing our utmost. We haven’t had enough clean sheets this season, but thankfully our frontline is working.
Saturday, before they scored we had three or four chances to put the ball in the back of the net and we didn’t take it. The ball goes down the outside and we don’t get out quick enough. There is a foul on the halfway line from their centre-half on Josh Coburn and then we allow him inside, which is a cardinal sin for us because we want to show people outside because there is less xG. People don’t score if you send them outside.
There is loads of stuff to improve on, but the lads know if you sat down with them and you said, ‘What’s gone wrong here?’ they’d be able to tell you the answers. It’s just about executing that on the day.
Disappointing, obviously, because we’ve lost 5-1, but with the performance there were some positives and there is loads of stuff we need to work on.
I get all of that, but when you get a result like that, it’s human nature to be down about it, or do you just put it to one side and compartmentalise it and they come in the same way as if they would have won 5-1?
No, obviously they are going to be disappointed, but getting beat is alright. It’s fine because once you get beat you are actually able to address some problems that have gone wrong and no-one here is scared to do that.
You are not going to win every single game. It would be amazing to do so, but it would be unrealistic to expect that to happen.
When you get beat, yeah, it’s difficult to be happy about it, no one is buzzing about getting beat, but you have to accept it and you have to understand that with a defeat, you learn.
Every time we win, we don’t come in delighted. When we’ve missed loads of chances, we want to make sure we don’t miss those chances again. Or if we’re conceding too many shots on our goal or the lads aren’t stopping crosses, there are always areas to improve.
At the moment, we are conceding lots of goals and we’ve lost 5-1. What do they want us to do, come in and absolutely roar at the lads? Well, that is going to serve no one.
They are an unbelievable set of lads and they know they have had a bad time on the Saturday. To drag that on though the weak is immature.
Let’s address it, as we did on Saturday and Monday and let’s move forward and get to work so we can beat MK Dons on Saturday.
You’ve scored goals very well this season, but is there something in the way the team is set up that you have to accept if you are going to create as many chances as you do and score as many goals, potentially you are going to be a little bit susceptible on the break or getting into problems in transitions?
No, because we scored a helluva lot of goals last season and we were really open. Personnel, we’ve got young lads here who are still learning.
This season is going to be a great season for them. Some of them have stepped up a level, some of them are playing against better players for the first time at this level and you can’t make the same mistakes that they were making last season because the strikers are better at this level.
No doubt everyone knows you get paid more money at this level and there are better teams at this level, so you are playing against better players.
With playing younger players, yeah, they’re empty and they will do absolutely everything that you want, but you have to accept that little bit of naivety with them. That’s on us as coaches to make them better, which we try to do every day and they are getting better.
We have had a really solid start to the season. Two games ago, we’re eighth and you’re looking at we’re three points away from the play-offs and everyone can’t believe it and they’re delighted.
But for us it is just about getting better and keeping to that process that we bang on about so much that clean sheets help you win games because that gives the lads confidence, not only in the midfielders but the defenders as well, and that’s easier for our attacking lads because there is less pressure on them to score goals and score more than one a game.
We’ve got to keep working and try to be a bit more disciplined. When you’re attacking, you’re at your most vulnerable. If you work in the army and you go into battle, you wouldn’t leave the backdoor free.
You would make sure you place soldiers in an area to make sure you’re not getting done from the back as well and that is a similar analogy to what we do in football. As we’re attacking, we try to place players in positions so if the ball comes out, we’re there again so we can have another phase of possession.
At the moment, we haven’t had a consistent backline. Bobby Thomas has left, Lewis Gibson is injured. Once you get that consistency, results will start to come and so will clean sheets.
You have played MK Dons twice and beaten them twice in different competitions this season. They are just on the turn and their form is starting to improve.
It is. A new manager will do that with a new way of working. They had an unbelievable season last year and nearly got to the Championship. They lost a few players, some players got bought and now they have had to rebuild.
The previous manager has felt that because he has lost his job and the new manager has come in and got a bounce out of them.
It’s going to be a really tough game, different to the other two, but our performance on Saturday wasn’t as bad as the performance makes out. We had 673 passes. Like I say, we’ve got to be more disciplined in certain areas and take our chances.
I think the result will be different, but our fans already know and they are well versed in the way we work and the football we try to play. They have been magnificent with us and they owe us a performance and hopefully we get one on Saturday.
Andy, the defensive problems, it seems more like a team issue than a defence issue. Because you can have someone like Jarell who has a really impressive game in a 5-1 defeat. It's not like he's had a nightmare, it just seems structures are the things that need improving...
Jarell, by the way, deserves a mention because in his league debut, I thought he was magnificent. I thought he was a real leader in there. For his first game, to come in, he hadn't trained many days in the build up to the game and the level of composure he showed, his 1vs1 defending, his ability to squeeze the space in front - I thought he was brilliant. I think we can all agree with that.
The lads in and around him can certainly do a little bit better, and have done better previously. But every time a team attacks, and you only have to watch top-level football, how many defenders stop crosses? How many defenders get out to the ball and stop shots? Everyone is sort of half a yard away at the moment and that's something we're trying to work on ourselves.
They only had five shots and scored five goals. It's probably not all down to the defenders. The midfielders certainly have to take part of the blame, and the strikers need to take part of the blame and we, as coaches, do. We're not going to point fingers at the defence, because it wasn't just the defence.
I felt really sorry for Ellery in goal. We brought Ellery in to push Belly and in his first game he concedes five, so the fans are obviously going to be - because they want Belly - fuming but we've got to give Ellery a chance. He'll push Belly on to be an even better goalkeeper.
The fans need to get behind Ellery on Saturday because we need a big performance from him and the way we want to play, like the fans know, we want to build out from the back. They know the way we want to play so they have to give him the confidence, he needs to feel that level of love that Belly does because we all must stick together now.
How do you reflect on the transfer window as a whole with five in and five out?
I think we are in a much stronger position. Alfie Kilgour wasn’t getting the minutes he deserved. Great kid and I’m gutted to see him go, but he just wasn’t playing or getting the minutes he wanted.
Harvey Saunders is the same, Zain Westbrooke unfortunately wasn’t part of the plans. Bobby Thomas is someone, who we loved and we cared about, but he decided to move on and there is nothing we can do about that because he was not our player. And Trevor Clarke was another one who just wasn’t contributing much, so he has gone on to do better things.
We hope they have wonderful careers and we’re delighted we have had a part to play with them, but the lads who have come in, Wardy, top player. Jarell, I think everyone knows the ability he has got, magnificent player. Ellery, really good goalkeeper and he will push Belly (James Belshaw).
We have got Lamare, who is a Rolls Royce and the fans will see he is a top player. He is really well thought of at Aston Villa.
And we’ve got Calum Macdonald who has come from Stockport and we knew him from Tranmere. He is a really good, solid left-back.
We have got competition for places. We’ve got five in and five out, but the five out weren’t contributing. These five will contribute towards the cause.
We also hit the bar on a few and, obviously, I can’t name names because they have gone to other clubs, but we are actually in for the top players at the top clubs, so that is really exciting, not only as a coaching staff but also for the football club that people think we’re doing the right job to send their best young players to us.
Have you signed Lamare Bogarde primarily as a centre-back or as a centre-midfielder? He has done both at Aston Villa.
It is lucky for us that he can play in both of those positions and he is comfortable in both of those positions. That is actually one of the things we took him for because he is so versatile.
We will decide where he is going to play, but at the moment we are thinking of him as a six or a four to help the lads out in the midfield area because Jordy (Rossiter) is out for a period of time and he is a massive loss because he is excellent for us. He is so critical and crucial in everything we do.
So Lamare might be able to shift in there, but he can also play either side in a back three. I’m not sure whether he can play in a two, we haven’t seen that, but huge potential and he is another exciting player that we are very lucky to have at our football club and I can’t wait to see him play.
I appreciate you are not the decision-maker on these things, but is the club still active in the free agent market now the window has closed?
If I’m being totally honest, we’ll never stop being aggressive in the transfer market. If we feel that we can improve the squad and the team for the benefit of the football club, we’re going to do it.
For example, if Tyler Blackett is out there on a free, he’s coming back from America. I don’t know whether Wayne Rooney wants to get fit again, lads [laughs]…
But, all joking aside, if someone is going to present themselves and we feel it will help us, we will not stop being aggressive to make the team better.
You mention Blackett. Obviously, there is so much on social media about it. Can you clear it up? Has he trained with you at all?
No, no, no. I just saw it the other day, to be honest (on social media). I see that.
I’m not sure what he’s doing. He’s obviously a fantastic player and if he wants to come over and wants to sign, brilliant, we’ll have to sort that one out with Tom (Gorringe, CEO) and Eddy (Jennings, head of football operations).
But, a really good player, huge experience - played loads of games in the Championship and has done ever so well out there in America - and someone who we’d definitely be interested in speaking to.
But I’m not sure, like I say I saw it the other day on social media.
On the injury front, you mention Jordy (Rossiter) - a big loss because in a game like last Saturday's, he probably solves a lot of the problems you did face - where is he in terms of his recovery? And also Lewis Gibson who's been outstanding when he's been available to play?
Both are great lads as well, not only do we miss them on the pitch but we miss them in and around the place when they're not here. Especially on the training pitch. They're such good professionals they actually drive standards so we miss them in both areas, really.
Jordy will be a couple of weeks, we don't want to rush him back too soon because he's such a good player we don't want anything to go wrong with him,
Lewis Gibson isn't too far away. He's probably going to start on the grass on Friday, maybe Monday, and then he'll start to build up his fitness and then he's not too far away - maybe two or three games. With Lewis we've got to be really careful because everyone knows how good he is and we don't want him break down again.
On MK, is there a real Leeds-flavour to how they play; that sort of Red Bull, direct, Bielsa-like intensity?
Yeah, their front three are really good. Flyers and they try and keep you pinned back and make those runs in behind. I do see a bit of Bielsa in them. But a possession-based team and I think Mark Jackson going in has really got them going. It seems like they were in a bit of a lull so should be an entertaining game. We like to play football, they like to play football. Whose defence is going to hold out?
With the quality you have, an aggressive game probably suits you quite well as they're going to take risks?
Yeah, absolutely. We'll be able to exploit the spaces that they're leaving. We're just after a little bit more of a consistent performance. We've had them at times - Peterborough United, when we beat them 1-0, I thought that was going to be the turning point in the season for clean sheets. Time and time again; train, drill, drill, drill and keep giving the lads good information.
It's the right thing to say. We've got young lads and they're getting better. These lads at the back, they're good kids, they're learning - they're doing clips, then they're going on and practicing the things that they're working on. Then they're competing against lads the same age as them and there's a really good culture here of improvement.
Like everyone, you want it to be yesterday but, as humans, we know that's not going to happen. We're 12th in the league, let's just go and win the next game. Let's just focus on MK Dons, it should be a good game and let's just see what happens.
Andy, obviously the transfer window has gone now. Were you a bit surprised that there wasn’t more speculation about Aaron Collins going?
I think Azza’s been solely focused on performing for Bristol Rovers. He’s a top player as everyone knows, everyone already knows the numbers.
His goal involvements, I think he’s number one or number two in the country so everyone’s going to be after Aaron Collins and they should be. Everyone has got scouting departments, everyone knows he's got fire in both feet.
He can run like the wind, he gets hold of the ball, he picks the ball up in lovely areas and he can assist. He's got fourteen goals and twelve assists, the most in any league so listen Aaron Collins is a fantastic footballer there is an awful lot of football clubs interested in him.
Because we've got such a good owner and CEO we don't have to sell Aaron, so he can help us until the end of the season and then hopefully he can go and make his international debut and we can sell him for £10million.
We’ve obviously had five go out, who unfortunately for them haven’t been contributing, we’ve brought five in who will contribute. But what people are not realising is we’ve kept Lewis Gibson, who could’ve gone back to Everton, we’ve kept Josh Coburn, who could’ve gone back to Middlesbrough, and we’ve kept Aaron Collins who everyone’s after at the moment.
Look at it on the over hand, we’ve lost Bobby Thomas, who was recalled so the fact that we’ve actually kept those three players, we’ve actually got eight brand new players again to go and contribute for us so we’re really excited.
I saw Calum Macdonald was on the bench for Stockport on Tuesday. How does the transfer transpire when he was on the bench?
We were talking to Calum before obviously he was named on the bench. Dave Challinor asked him if he would go on the bench just for that game. He wasn't going to bring him on so there was no risk there to us, or to the boy.
He knew about our interest before, he was obviously waiting for his agent to get it all sorted which he did in plenty of time and then I spoke to him at about half eleven when he got off the coach and he got back into his car. We’re delighted to have Calum, he’s a good kid and a nice lad.
Scotty’s done an unbelievable job for us and put in a great shift as a wing-back, but he’s not a left back. At the moment we’ve only got Lewis Gordon who, by the way, has done an unbelievable job for his first year in professional football to play the games he’s played and performed the way he has, he’s done really well.
We feel we just need that little bit more experience which Calum’s got, so we’re happy. Could it have been better? Absolutely, we hit the bar on a few targets but like I said we’ve got the lads out who we needed to get out, our net spend has improved because we’ve spent less money with the lads we’ve brought in than with the lads that were here.
SIGN UP: To receive our free Rovers newsletter, bringing you the latest from the Mem
READ NEXT:
